Cooling system and method for data center

ABSTRACT

Cooling system for a data center includes at least one air-conditioner, at least one air-guiding fan, a first temperature sensor, a second temperature sensor, and a control unit. The air-guiding fan exchanges air between the data center and an external environment of the data center. The first temperature sensor senses an interior temperature of the data center. The second temperature sensor senses an environmental temperature outside of the data center. The control unit controls operating state of the air-conditioner, the first air-guiding fan, and the second air-guiding fan. When the environmental temperature is lower than the interior temperature, the control unit turns off the air-conditioner and the air-guiding fan.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a cooling system and a cooling method, more particular to a cooling system and method for a data center.

2. Description of Related Art

A data center includes a plurality of servers to store large amounts of data. The servers may generate heat where an internal temperature of the data center may rise due to the heat, which may affect performance of the servers. Therefore, air-conditioners are employed by the data center to cool the servers. However, when the internal temperature of the data center is lower than an external environmental temperature outside of the data center, the air-conditioners may still keep working, thus wasting energy.

Therefore, what is needed is a means to overcome the above described shortcoming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of at least one embodiment. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the various views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a data center including a cooling system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the cooling system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a cooling method implemented by the data center of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will be made to the drawings to describe various embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a data center 10. The data center 10 includes a cooling system 100 (as shown in FIG. 2). The cooling system 100 includes at least one air-conditioner 40, a first air-guiding fan 104, a second air-guiding fan 114, a first temperature sensor 203, a second temperature sensor 233, a control unit 60, and a plurality of servers 200. The at least one air-conditioner 40 can be installed at any appropriate position within the data center 10. The first air-guiding fan 104 guides internal air of the data center 10 to an external environment. The second air-guiding fan 114 guides external air of the external environment into the data center 10. The first and second air-guiding fan 104, 114 cooperatively define an airflow route in the data center 10. The first temperature sensor 203 senses an interior temperature T1 of the data center 10 and transmits a first signal corresponding to the interior temperature T1 to the control unit 60. The second temperature sensor 233 senses an environmental temperature T2 outside to the data center 10 and transmits a second signal corresponding to the environmental temperature T2 to the control unit 60. The control unit 60 controls operating states of the air-conditioner 40, the first air-guiding fan 104, and the second air-guiding fan 114 according to the interior temperature T1 and the environmental temperature T2.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the cooling system 100. The control unit 60 includes a processor 61, a driver 63, an input unit 65, and a storage 67. Each driver 63, the input unit 65, and the storage 67 are electrically connected to the processor 61. The processor 61 is electrically connected to the first temperature sensor 203 and the second temperature sensor 233. The driver 63 is electrically connected to the first air-guiding fan 104, the second air-guiding fan 114, and the air-conditioner 40. A plurality of temperature ranges and a plurality of control command groups corresponding to the temperatures ranges are input by a user via the input unit 65, where each temperature range corresponds to one of the control command groups. The temperature ranges and the control command groups are recorded in a table prestored in the storage 67. Each control command group includes a first control command for controlling an operating state of the air-conditioner 40 and a second control command for controlling an operating state of the first and second air-guiding fans 104, 114. In the embodiment, the input unit 65 may include a display (not shown) and a keyboard (not shown). Both the first and second control commands can be different values (e.g., “on” and “off”).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a cooling method implemented by cooling system 10 for cooling the data center 10. The method includes the following steps, but it should be understood that in other embodiments, additional steps may be added, others deleted, and the ordering of the steps may be changed.

In step S1, the at least one air-conditioner 40 is turned on and works at an initial temperature setting, and different temperature ranges and control command groups corresponding to the interior temperature T1 and the environmental temperature T2 are received from a user via the input unit 65. The operating state of each air-conditioner 40, the first air-guiding fan 104, and the second air-guiding fan 114 includes a turned-on state and a turned-off state. In the embodiment, the initial temperature setting is 20° C. The processor 61 records the received temperature ranges and corresponding control command groups in the table as shown below.

TABLE Control command group Interior Environmental First control Second control temperature T1 temperature T2 command command T1 > 20° C. T2 ≧ 20° C. ON OFF 5° C. < T2 < 20° C. ON ON T2 ≦ 5° C. OFF ON T1 ≦ 20° C. T2 ≧ 20° C. ON OFF 5° C. < T2 < 20° C. OFF ON T2 ≦ 5° C. OFF Reduce rotation speed Initial temperature setting = 20° C.

In step S2, the first temperature sensor 203 senses the interior temperature T1 of the data center 10 and transmits the first signal corresponding to the interior temperature T1 to the processor 61, and the second temperature sensor 233 senses the environmental temperature T2 outside to the data center 10 and transmits the second signal corresponding to the environmental temperature T2 to the processor 61.

In step S3, the processor 61 generates a control command group according to the interior temperature T1 and the environmental temperature T2. In detail, the processor 61 searches the table to obtain the control command group corresponding to the interior temperature T1 and the environmental temperature T2. In an example, it is assuming that the interior temperature T1 is 18° C. and the environmental temperature T2 is 10° C. The processor 61 first determines which temperature ranges that the interior temperature T1 and the environmental temperature T2 are respectively within, and then searches the table to obtain the control command group corresponding the temperature range. Each control command group includes a first control command for controlling the at least one air-conditioner 40 and a second control command for controlling the first and second air-guiding fan 104, 114. The first control command represents an operating state of the air-conditioner 40. The second control command represents the operating states of the first and the second air-guiding fan 104, 114. In the embodiment, when the interior temperature T1 is 18° C. and the environmental temperature T2 is 10° C., the value of the first control command is “off” which is used to turn off the air-conditioner 40, and the value of the second control command is “on” which is used to turn on the first air-guiding fan and the second guiding fan.

In step S4, the processor 61 determines whether a present operating state of the air-conditioner 40 matches the first control command and operating states of the first air-guiding fan 104 and second air-guiding fan 114 matches the second control command When the operating state of the air-conditioner 40 matches the first control command and the operating states of the first and second air-guiding fans 104, 114 match the second control command, step S2 is performed. When the operating state of the air-conditioner 40 does not match the first control command or the operating states of the first air-guiding fan 104 and second air-guiding fan 114 do not match the second control command, step S5 is performed. In the embodiment, when the air-conditioner 40 is turned-on, and both the first and second air-guiding fans 104, 114 are turned-off, but the value of the first control command is “off” and the value of the second control command is “on”. The state of the air-conditioner 40 is determined to not match the first control command and the states of the first and second air-guiding fans 104, 114 are determined to not match the second control command. Otherwise, when the air-conditioner 40 is the turned-off, and both the first and second air-guiding fans 104, 114 are turned-on, but the value of the first control command is “off” and the value of the second control command is “on”. The air-conditioner 40 is determined to match the first control command and the states of the first and second air-guiding fans 104, 114 are determined to match the second control command.

In step S5, the processor 61 outputs the first control command to the air-conditioner 40, and outputs the second control command to both the first air-guiding fan 101 and the second air-guiding fan 114 via the driver 63 to switch the operating state of each air-conditioner 40, the first air-guiding fan 104, and the second air-guiding fan 114. In one example, when the interior temperature T1 is 18° C. and the environmental temperature T2 is 10° C., the processor 61 outputs the first control command to turn off the air-conditioner 40 and outputs the second control command to turn on the first air-guiding fan 104 and the second air-guiding fan 114 via the driver 63.

In summary, when the environmental temperature of the data center is lower than the interior temperature of the data, the cooling system turns off the air-conditioner and turns on the first and second air-guiding fans to cool the servers. Thus, energy consumption of cooling system could be reduced.

It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only; and changes may be made in detail, especially in the matters of arrangement of parts within the principles of the embodiments to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooling system for a data center, comprising: at least one air-conditioner; at least one air-guiding fan exchanging air between the data center and an external environment of the data center; a first temperature sensor sensing an interior temperature of the data center; a second temperature sensor sensing an environmental temperature of the external environment; and a control unit controlling an operating state of each of the air-conditioner, the first air-guiding fan, and the second air-guiding fan; wherein when the environmental temperature is lower than the interior temperature, the control unit turns off the air-conditioner and turns on the air-guiding fan.
 2. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the at least one air-guiding fan comprises a first air-guiding fan guiding internal air of the data center to the external environment and a second air-guiding fan guiding external air of the external environment into an interior of the data center, the first and second air-guiding fan cooperatively define an airflow route in the data center.
 3. The cooling system of claim 2, wherein the control unit comprises a processor electrically connected to the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor, a driver electrically connected to the first air-guiding fan, the second air-guiding fan, and the air-conditioner, an input unit receiving a plurality of temperature ranges and a plurality of control command groups, and a storage that stores a table recording the temperature ranges and the control command groups.
 4. The cooling system of claim 3, wherein each control command group comprises a first control command controlling an operating state of the air-conditioner and a second control command controlling an operating state of the first and second air-guiding fans.
 5. The cooling system of claim 4, wherein an initial temperature of the air-conditioner is set via the input unit.
 6. The cooling system of claim 5, wherein when the interior temperature and the environmental temperature are both higher than the initial temperature, the processor controls the air-conditioner to keep working.
 7. The cooling system of claim 5, wherein when the environmental temperature is lower than a first temperature and the first temperature is lower 15 degrees Celsius than the initial temperature, the processor turns off the air-conditioner and turns on the first air-guiding fan and the second air-guiding fan.
 8. The cooling system of claim 7, wherein when the environmental temperature is between the first temperature and the initial temperature, and the interior temperature is higher than the initial temperature, the processor controls the air-conditioner to keep working and to turn on the first and second air-guiding fans simultaneously.
 9. The cooling system of claim 7, wherein when the environmental temperature is between the first temperature and the initial temperature, and the interior temperature is lower than the initial temperature, the processor controls the air-conditioner to keep working.
 10. A cooling method for a data center having an air-conditioner and an air-guiding fan for exchanging air between an interior of the data center and an external environment outside of the data center, the method comprising: turning on the air-conditioner and receiving different temperature ranges and control command groups; sensing an interior temperature of the interior of the data center and an environmental temperature of the external environment; generating a control command group according to the interior temperature and the environmental temperature; determining whether present operating states of the air-conditioner and air-guiding fan match the control command group; and switching the operating states of the air-conditioner and the air-guiding fan to match the interior temperature and the environmental temperature when the present operating states of the air-conditioner and the air-guiding fan do not match the control command group.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the control command group comprise a first control command controlling the at least one air-conditioner and a second control command controlling the air-guiding fan.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: storing the temperature ranges and the control command groups in a table.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein when the interior temperature and the environmental temperature are both higher than the initial temperature, the air-conditioner is kept working.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein when the environmental temperature is lower than a first temperature and the first temperature is lower 15 degrees Celsius than the initial temperature, turning off the air-conditioner and turning on the first air-guiding fan simultaneously.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein when the environmental temperature is between the first temperature and the initial temperature, and the interior temperature is higher than the initial temperature, the air-conditioner is kept working and turning on the air-guiding fan simultaneously.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein when the environmental temperature is between the first temperature and the initial temperature, and the interior temperature is lower than the initial temperature, the air-conditioner is kept working. 